NOTE:The general dockets of the Commercial Court and the extant indexes to those dockets have been digitized and are now available at FamilySearch.org. (The suit records and other records of the court remain unmicrofilmed or digitized and are available for in-house use only at NOPL.) In order to access the digital images, you must create an account with FamilySearch, but the account is free. See below for direct links to the digital images.

With the passage of 1839 La. Acts 17, under the power granted by
La. Const. art. IV, sec. 4 (1812), the Legislature created the
Commercial Court of New Orleans. The act granted the Commercial
Court concurrent jurisdiction with the already existing Orleans
Parish Court and First Judicial
District Court (courts of general
jurisdiction), with the notable exceptions that the Commercial
Court could hear no case involving (typically long drawn-out)
disputes as to: ownership or possession of land; ownership of
slaves; domestic relations; tort suits; or eminent domain
expropriations. (See 1839 La. Acts 17, sec. 3.) The act also
allowed parties to transfer actions pending in the existing
courts to Commercial Court as a way of relieving the burden on
the existing courts created by the large number and technical
complexity of commercial disputes arising in the city. (1839 La.
Acts 17, sec. 13.) The legislature also evidently intended to
facilitate the speedy resolution of commercial disputes as a way
of encouraging the development of commerce in New Orleans.
Appeals from Commercial Court lay to the Supreme Court, which was
bound by statute to decide any appeal taken to it. (1839 La. Acts 17, sec. 4.)

Charles Watts, a noted figure in the city's commercial life who
had served as judge of the First Judicial District from 1832-36,
received the appointment to the Commercial Court bench. His
status equaled that of the judges of the existing courts. (1839
La. Acts 17, sec. 2.) Similarly, the rules the court adopted
closely resembled those of the First Judicial District Court. (1839 La.
Acts 17, sec. 7.) Judge Watts held court at the Merchants'
Exchange and later at the Presbytere. Though the parties could
elect to have a jury hear their case, Judge Watts himself decided
most of the disputes.

A small (n=221) random sample of suits filed over the life of the court reveals
that 51% involved financial instruments, either promissory notes (31%), bills of exchange (12%), or
other instruments (8%); 26% involved debts for merchandise; 8% involved debts for services; 4%
involved leases; and the remainder involved various miscellaneous disputes. The cases ranged from
simple actions on a debt in which the defendant defaulted and the plaintiff received a speedy
judgment to cases which required trial testimony on complicated factual and legal questions of
liability and damages.

In the Logan v. Pontchartrain R.R. case, for example, Logan claimed that the railroad had lost
his baggage on the last leg of a trip from Mobile to New Orleans in May of 1843. To support his
claim, he enclosed a detailed inventory of the personal property he had placed in his "parcel of trunks
and baskets." Of most concern to Logan: the loss of "an extensive theatrical wardrobe" which ran
the gamut from "yellow buckskin breeches" ($15.00) to a champagne basket ($.50). The railroad
countered by denying Logan's allegations, and added that according to its printed tariff (reproduced
above), it bore no liability for loss of baggage because the tariff stated: "All baggage at risk of
owners." Judge Watts disagreed, and found for Logan, awarding him $812 of the $1,236 he had
claimed. The railroad appealed to the Supreme Court, which affirmed Judge Watts' judgment.
Logan v. Pontchartrain R.R. Co., No. 5562 (La. May 27, 1845).

The Commercial Court ceased to exist at the adoption of the new
constitution of 1845, which allowed for only those courts
specifically set out in the constitution. La. Const. art. 75
(1845). Legislation transferred the Commercial Court's pending
cases to the newly created Fourth District Court. (1846 La. Acts
32.)

The records, all of which recorded the regular business of the court, include:

Manuscript records in English and French of the filings made in
actions in the Commercial Court. The number of pages for a
single suit ranges from two or three in suits which were
"discontinued" shortly after filing to hundreds of pages in
complex long-running cases (typically those transferred from
other courts). Single suits may contain plaintiffs' petitions,
defendants' answers, surety bonds, bills of lading, ships'
charters, letters rogatory, extracts from the minutes, summonses,
writs of fieri facias, and judgments. Some records also contain
public notices printed in newspapers, contracts and plans, and
extracts from account books.

Most of the records remain as originally filed (i.e., folded and
in pigeonholes) though some of the records have been flattened
and filed in acid free containers. All are in the Louisiana
Division's basement archive.

The Louisiana Division also holds two manuscript volumes of
uncertain provenance and date which list records thought to be
missing. According to that listing, about 10% of the 8,000-plus records have gone missing. Recent
work confirms that estimate, in that although some of the records listed as missing have
reappeared, others not listed as missing have disappeared.

Docket Books and Indexes, 1839-1846

Bound manuscript volumes divided into two subseries: general and
special.

The court maintained its general docket (4 v.) which recorded
documents filed and action taken in a particular case, along with
costs assessed, in case number order. The entries show in
addition to the docket numbers, the parties' names and the
attorneys (if any). The general docket has a plaintiffs' or
direct index (3 v.) and defendants' or indirect index (2 v.).

The court also maintained a judgment docket book (2 v.), which
recorded the judgments entered by the court (in the order
entered) along with the case number, parties, attorneys if any,
judgment terms (including amount and interest), and action taken
(e.g. writ of fieri facias issued, judgment satisfied). It has a
plaintiffs' (1 v.) and defendants' (1 v.) index.

Finally, the court maintained an execution docket book (2 v.),
which recorded the writs issued (in the order issued), plus the
judgment on which the writ is based and remarks of the sheriff or
sheriff's deputy on satisfying or attempting to satisfy the
judgment. This docket book has an index organized by plaintiff
(1 v.).

The fourth general docket volume contains, in addition to the
entries for Commercial Court, a series of docket entries (#3822-4661) of cases (probably tax
collection suits) the State of
Louisiana brought against individuals in March of 1879. Most of
the entries end with the word "Paid."

Bound manuscript volumes chronologically organized in which the
clerk made entries recording the proceedings held on a given day.
The entries show the case number, parties, attorneys (if any),
witnesses (if any), panel of jurors (in jury cases), and the
action taken, including rulings on motions, scheduling matters,
and judgments in cases. The minutes in addition served as a kind
of permanent record for the court, in which the judge recorded
the court's rules (v. 1, p. 1) and subsequent changes to the
rules (e.g., v. 1, p. 312-15).

The single volume of Rough Minutes contains draft versions of
minutes for early sessions of court (only up until June,
1839).

INVENTORY of Minute Books

Minute Books, 1839-1845

v.1 3/28/1839 - 5/13/1840

v.2

v.3 5/24/1841 - 5/16/1842

v.4

v.5 6/22/1843 - 6/9/1845

Rough Minutes, 1839

v. 3/30/1839 - 6/27/1839

Judicial Record Books, 1839-1846

Bound manuscript volumes containing copies of the plaintiff's
petition, defendant's answer (if any), jury verdict (in jury
cases), the court's judgment, and the decree of the Supreme Court
(if the case went up on appeal) for each suit decided, in the
order in which the case became final.

The judicial record books show the essentials of every suit filed
and decided in the Commercial Court. Only those cases decided
after the court ceased operations and its cases went to the
Fourth Judicial District do not appear in it.

INVENTORY of Judicial Record Books

Judicial Record Book, 1839-1846

v.1 4/12/1839 - 8/17/1839

v.2 10/17/1839 - 1/16/1840

v.3 1/20/1840 - 3/28/1840

v.4 3/30/1840 - 7/9/1840

v.5 8/15/1840 - 3/13/1841

v.6 3/15/1841 - 7/24/1841

v.7 11/17/1841 - 7/23/1842

v.8 11/18/1842 - 7/25/1843

v.9 11/21/1843 - 6/24/1844

v.10 11/6/1844 - 7/19/1845

v.11 9/22/1845 - 2/19/1846

v.12 2/19/1846 - 6/18/1846

Deed Book, 1839-1846

Bound manuscript volume containing the sheriff's recordation of
defendants' property seized (such as bills of lading, slaves, and
immovables) and transferred to plaintiffs or sold at auction
(with the proceeds going to plaintiffs). The volume contains a
plaintiff's (direct) index.